Picking a second center in the draft, Mason Moe has been gobbled up by the Devils.
The New Jersey Devils want centers. Standing at 6’1” and 185 pounds, Mason Moe is now the second center and the third forward out of three picks taken in the 2025 NHL Draft. While Moe may have flown under the radar prior to his draft season, he had a solid draft year, bringing him to the attention of the Devils. Moe still has a lot of work to do to round out his game, especially as it comes to creating offensive volume, but he seemed to have no problem producing points with his opportunities this year.
In his Elite Prospects profile, you will see that Moe made the jump to the USHL directly from Eden Prairie High School in Minnesota. But he was not out of his depth! Moe had 17 goals and 26 assists for the Madison Capitols of the USHL in his first full season there. So, while being a high schooler the year before really dings his production profile on Byron Bader’s Hockey Prospecting, he actually had a higher NHLe for the 2024-25 season than Conrad Fondrk with his 43 points in the USHL.
Elite Prospects
Thankfully, we actually have a profile on Mason Moe. James wrote this one, and he correctly identified Moe as a third or fourth-round prospect. With the Devils selecting at the end of the third round here, they get decent value out of the pick. James, regarding him as a huge riser in this NHL Draft, writes on Moe,
Moe fills a need in the Devils prospect pool as a center with bottom six potential. His lack of physicality is concerning for someone in what would likely need to be in a checking role to succeed at the highest level. However, Moe already has NHL height, so with confidence and a bit more muscle that could increase.
Moreover, while Moe possesses the hockey sense and playmaking for all three zones, his defensive play also seems to need refinement (The Hockey Writers noted a lack of defensive detail as something Moe needs to improve on) and his offensive numbers didn’t exactly jump off the page in the high-scoring USHL. Moe finished 41st in scoring according to Quant Hockey. Solid work, but is it enough to counter his other perceived deficiencies? One has to wonder, especially in a player with a projected ceiling of a bottom six center, defensive play and checking would be vitally important to a long and fruitful NHL career. His profile reminds me of many prospects who are good offensively, but not good enough to play higher up in an NHL lineup, then lack the other characteristics needed to play bottom six. See former Devils prospect Artem Shlaine, for example.
I will note that Mitchell Brown and Lassi Alanen’s tracking data actually gives Moe most credit for his physicality and defense, with him making a lot of tracked defensive plays compared to his peers, while helping to create space for teammates with his body positioning. So, we will have to see how he develops. But, for now, check his highlights on HSD Prospects.
Now that you know what I think about the pick, please feel free to give your reaction to the pick in the comments. Please also vote in our flash poll (ends at 7:00 PM tomorrow), that will lead to a later post describing what you, the People Who Matter, thought of the pick. Thank you for reading.